Día de los Muertos

Catrina was…scrambling, if she was being honest.

She was trying to get some things together to make an ofrenda for Día de los Muertos, but all of the places she was “allowed” to go didn’t have anything that she needed.

This would be so much easier if she was back home, wouldn’t it? Santa Muerte made sure all of her missions were finished by the time major holidays came, but SHIELD wouldn’t let her go back to Mexico to celebrate. She just wanted to be able to celebrate Día de los Muertos with her family. Why was that so much to ask? The cartels knew not to attack her, so why was she even here? Díos, this was a mess.

Catrina walked back into the compound and sighed, trying not to let her face and body show how disappointed she was. How could she make a proper ofrenda without the marigolds, the decorations, the proper offerings, any of it? “Qué quilombo…” she mumbled, trying to get her bearings. A few agents looked at her when she spoke, but none of them bothered her, so it was fine.

“You seem upset.” Ah. Wanda. At least she wouldn’t be bothersome.

“I am sorry for seeming that way. Just frustrated.” Catrina knew that Wanda would try to dig for an answer but tried just brushing it off anyway.

“I might be able to help, if that’s what you need,” Wanda looked so…open. Caring. Maybe she’d actually understand?

“Día de los Muertos is coming. I do not have the supplies to build an ofrenda properly, and nothing close to the compound does, either. They will not let me go back to Mexico to celebrate, so I might have to skip this year.” Catrina tried to keep her tone light, but a bit of disappointment and sorrow leaked through. She loved the holiday as a child. She loved setting up the ofrenda with her tías, mama and abuela. She loved setting up the offerings and making her own for each of the ancestors. She felt…cheated, almost. This was usually so easy to do in Mexico. Everywhere was selling supplies. Even when money was tight, they always scraped together an ofrenda. It felt wrong not to.

“Is there really no way you can celebrate?”

“Well, if I were allowed further out, I could try and find somewhere selling the supplies, but I doubt they will.” Catrina looked away from Wanda, trying to not seem terribly upset. Of course, she loved the holiday, but she always had next year. And the ancestors would certainly understand if she missed one year because of this. Maybe. Hopefully. There were only three days left. “Me siento defraudo,” she whispered, turning away.

Wanda watched as Catrina left and started to plan in her head. She knew that Day of the Dead was important in Mexico, and she also knew what Catrina was like when she was upset. By the looks of it, she was upset right now.

Wanda gathered some trusted teammates (Clint, Steve and Natasha) and told them the plan. They were going to go to the Hispanic quarter of the city and look for the supplies. She already knew some of what was needed, but she might need some help with specifics.

Natasha did some research on what was potentially needed, and they all set to work the next day. They got up early and made their way from the compound to the city (with Clint complaining the whole time) and tried to find what they needed. They asked some locals, but got met with strange looks and halfhearted answers.

Finally, one person told them what everyone else had been thinking. “What’re four white people doing buying things to make an ofrenda?”

“Well, we have a friend from Mexico who wants to celebrate, but she isn’t allowed out of the house right now. So, we’re trying to get supplies for her to make the ofrenda.” Steve had the most horrendous American accent when saying “Ofrenda”, but the woman seemed to understand.

“Alright, here’s where you want to go-”

By late afternoon, they were back at the compound, grinning like lunatics. Well, Wanda was grinning like a lunatic. Everyone else was walking like they usually did. But that didn’t matter! Because now they had the supplies to build a proper ofrenda!

“Catrina!” Wanda called out as soon as she saw the woman, holding a large bundle of marigolds. Catrina turned and widened her eyes comically at what was being brought over.

“Wanda? What is all of this?”

“You said Día de los Muertos was soon. So we bought you things to make an ofrenda!” Everyone nodded, and Catrina broke out into a wide grin.

“I…thank you, Wanda!” With that, Catrina brought her in for a hug, careful not to crush the marigolds.

Catrina led them to her room, carefully building the ofrenda on a table she had borrowed. Marigolds were set up along the edges, the offerings were placed out, and everything seemed to be set up well. However, as Wanda studied Catrina, she noticed that her friend seemed to be…upset still. They had gotten everything right, hadn’t they?

“Something bothering you?” Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow at Catrina.

“This is all wonderful, it is! I just…some of the offerings are missing,” Catrina supplied, followed quickly by “But it is okay! I do not need more than this! This is good!”

“What other things would you need?” Steve asked, looking like a lost puppy.

“Just some sodas and a few treats, but nothing you would have known. We always got Jarritos and De La Rosa for special things to offer. Every family has specific things they offer the ancestors with the ofrenda, all tailored to what the ancestors liked. Jarritos and De La Rosa were common loves in our family.”

Everyone tried finding a place that sold those two things. Nothing. How was that possible? They were either not carried, or sold out. Damn.

Tony caught wind of the predicament and scoffed, catching all four of them in the hallway. “You do realize I could help you out, right?”

They all got to talking, and eventually, the supplies were being shipped.

The next day, the Jarritos and De La Rosa were there, and they brought it over to Catrina.

Día de los Muertos arrived, and Catrina…still seemed upset. But apparently, only Natasha and Wanda noticed this. Wanda did some research and found out that most Mexican families would eat at their loved one’s graves during the holiday. That obviously couldn’t happen right now.

So, Wanda came up with a solution: Call on some of Catrina’s ancestors so she could speak with them.

Wanda guided the spirits to Catrina, and Catrina looked surprised, yet again. “You seemed upset you couldn’t eat at their plots, so I brought them here so you could talk.”

Catrina squealed with delight and brought Wanda into an impossibly tight hug, pulling back after a moment and kissing Wanda on both cheeks.

Now, Wanda knew that this was a cultural thing with many Hispanic places. It was a common way of showing affection and greeting someone. Did that stop her brain from short circuiting? No. No it did not.

Maybe her holiday turned out to be nice after all…